We all have rooms in the house that get overused, while other rooms might hardly be touched. Whether or not you need to conserve space in your home, there are benefits to making your rooms multifunctional in today’s day and age. We lead busy lives and having rooms that serve two or more purposes will make your day-to-day life easier by bringing everything together. Creating dual-purpose rooms will make working, relaxing, and entertaining more convenient and often, more fun.
Let’s dive into some creative ways to combine your rooms and make the most of your space.
The Guest Room/Office
Most of the time, your guest room likely won’t have anyone in it, so this is the perfect room to do double duty. If you’ve been working from your kitchen table, it’s time to give yourself an upgrade by installing a desk in your guest room, whether it’s a small corner desk or a foldable desk that you can store in the closet when not in use. Not only will this give you more space to spread out your work, but you’ll have a peaceful place to focus during the week without fear of interruptions from hungry family members. When your guests come to stay, you can neatly fold away the desk or leave it out for them to use if it is not obstructing their path to the bed. A writing desk, like the one pictured, is particularly stylish and has the added benefit of being able to fold up and store your work away. You can remove the chair when guests come to stay and the bottom drawers can be used for storing your guests’ clothes.
The Play/Craft Room
For anyone with kids, you more than understand the importance of a playroom. It keeps your children’s toys in one place so that their destruction zone is confined to one area. However, it doesn’t have to be just their room. Take advantage of the playful nature of the room by installing your own crafts/sewing/art table. There are always little projects that pop up around the house and this is an easy way of keeping all your glue, supplies, markers, etc. in one place. Having this combined fun room will promote spending time together and allow you to keep an eye on your little ones when they are playing.
The Dining/Music Room
If your dining room is closed off from the rest of the house, you might consider using it as a music room when you’re not dining. While you probably don’t want a drum set next to the dining table, more relaxing instruments like a piano, violin or harp can certainly reside in your dining room all the time. This even opens up opportunities for friends and family to play their instruments following dinner, providing entertainment without your guests having to leave the table.
The Laundry/Pet Room
Laundry rooms have a lot of potential to be multifunctional because other than laundry, they don’t typically serve another purpose. Many people combine their laundry room with the concept of a “mud room,” in which dirty shoes get cleaned, flowers are arranged, and dogs are bathed. If you have a pet, this is really an ideal place to keep their supplies because it’s safe and clean without being too near to your pantry. You can store their toys, food and treats on stylish shelves or in woven baskets, like our Peconic Rope Basket.
The Library/Lounge
If you have a library in your home, it can be used in many different ways besides just for storing books. During the day, you might use the room for reading, but at night, you can set up a bar cart, like our Shurlock Bar Cart and host guests for happy hour. The books will provide a gorgeous backdrop for cocktails and you’ll get to enjoy a room that doesn’t see a lot of use at night. You can also consider adding a built-in entertainment center on one wall so that your library can function as a home cinema as well. An ottoman that doubles as a storage unit is a great idea in this multifunctional room because you can use it to store blankets while also being an extra seat for guests.
Need Help with Combining Your Rooms? Ask Our Team of Interior Designers
There’s always a way of making your home more functional while still keeping true to your design style. In general, creating dual-purpose rooms will help your home feel more open and inviting as it brings people and activities together that normally wouldn’t overlap. Everything should have its place, but that doesn’t mean that rooms can’t be used for both work and play. We are all multi-taskers, so why shouldn’t our homes be reflective of this?
When choosing furniture for these rooms, keep in mind that it’s best to look for pieces that serve multiple purposes and don’t take up a ton of space. Stop by our Charleston furniture stores and we’ll show you how to make your homework smarter, not harder.
Shop the Look
Shurlock Bar Cart
A simple, classic gold bar cart is the perfect addition to any home. Sleek and modern, this bar cart is an easy way to spice up your dining room.
Angel Daybed
The Angel Daybed is a versatile piece for any flex space. Keep it closed for the perfect daybed or slide the trundle out to reveal a twin sleeper.
